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A Provençal farmhouse exquisitely decorated in traditional style
The first time I visited Provence it was clear it was going to be a life-long love affair. As I watched the burnt orange sunset melt through to pale violet, I appreciated the fascination this beautiful region held for Van Gogh, Cézanne and Matisse. The exquisite light and soft colors change this varied landscape into an ethereal dreamscape—and I was similarly caught in its spell.
I was drawn to Provence as an escape. Living outside New York City with my husband and five children, I was enchanted by photos of the idyllic countryside, picturesque markets and simple way of life. We decided to spend a month in Provence, renting a charming home in the middle of a vine-yard. That summer was everything we hoped it would be. Life was slower and more intentional. Days were spent shopping for fresh cheese, bread, and produce at the markets, picking grapes and relaxing by the pool. Time as a family happened naturally and we enjoyed cooking, sightseeing, and reading books together in the evening.
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After that first trip we visited almost every summer for ten years before stumbling upon our own piece of Provence, when we rented what would become Le Mas des Poiriers, a 65-acre pear farm on an island in the Rhône River. There were many things that were appealing about this special property. We were initially attracted to the expanse of flat green land with easy access to water, and we adored the spectacular 200-year-old plane trees planted in three allées.
As a big family, we also needed a house with plenty of room for children and grandchildren to gather under one roof. Large homes with volume are rare in Provence, and the 13,000 square feet of the main building, with its lofty ceilings, satisfied our need for space. I fell in love with Le Mas des Poiriers, but the house needed a lot of work and it would be a big project for an American living outside of France. In May 2015 we began the long process of purchasing the property; six months later, we owned a farm in Provence and I was registered as a French farmer.
During the three-year renovation I would fly to France to meet with the architect and sub-contractors roughly every six weeks. I stayed mostly at the Hotel La Mirande in Avignon, a former cardinal’s home, where I fell in love with the charming basement kitchen. I was thrilled to find the son of the man who had built it, François Reynier, and commissioned him to build our own, working with US kitchen designer Debbie Blumencranz. It is truly the best room of the house.
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For the interior decoration I engaged Susan Bednar Long, who had designed homes for us previously. I wanted the interior to reflect the style of the region and to retain a casual, relaxed feeling. Susan and I worked together on this project. She created the room layouts and handled the technical aspects of the design process, while we collaborated on color and fabric schematics and I sourced the art and antiques. I further researched many enchanting hotels and homes in Provence, including the Bastide de Gordes and Ginny Magher’s Mas de Baraquet, renovated by Alexandre’s father, Bruno Lafourcade.
I traveled regularly to the antique markets in L’Isle sur la Sorgue, the weekend markets and exquisite antiquaires of Paris, even antique fairs in London, in search of fixtures and furnishings from the correct time period to suit the house, favoring items with a naive style. I took particular inspiration from some delightful dog portraits we inherited from the former owners, Marguerite and Charles-Henri Mangin, grouping them with additional pieces of a similar style and period in the main entry hall. The dog portraits are lovely together there, along with a wonderful tapestry—also inherited with the house—hung over the staircase.
Blue, it seemed, came in a myriad of hues. Finalizing the paint colors on shutters and interior doors was surprisingly one of the biggest challenges. Our very talented painter, Jacques Pons, came to the site each day with a box filled with plastic bottles of paint. I told him what I was looking for and he began squeezing and mixing colors into a bucket. It took days of experimentation and I certainly challenged his patience. When we finally found the perfect blue I was worried that, since it was not a pre-mixed paint, he would not be able to match it to the rest of the house. I asked how he would recreate it; he looked at me with some disdain and simply pointed to his eyes. The French are truly masters of color.
Since finishing the house, we have enjoyed settling in and becoming part of the Provençal landscape. I have filled the cupboards with old French dishes from the Paris markets, and antique commodes burst with patterned Provençal table linens in a variety of pretty colors. Scouring the Sunday market in L’Isle sur la Sorgue for old silver, glassware, and other treasures is a guilty pleasure. I am a regular there when I am in town.
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The project was truly a labor of love and a lesson in patience. We celebrated the completion with everyone who made the project a success by inviting them for dinner, laying a long table on the south patio. The crafts-people, artisans and their families joined us there under the plane trees on a hot summer evening, cicadas chirping. As we sat down to eat, drink, and reminisce, I knew that the entire experience would never be replicated, and that les Provençals we now called friends were irreplaceable.
Luke White1/11Shauna scoured France's antiques markets and shops for suitable pieces, favouring a naive style."I took particular inspiration from some delightful dog portraits we inherited from the former owners, Marguerite and Charles-Henri Mangin, grouping them with additional pieces of a similar style and period in the main entry hall."
Luke White2/11A collection of faience fines soupières is housed in a giant cabinet in the entry hall.
Luke White3/11The kitchen was based on the one at La Mirande in Avignon.
Luke White4/11Shauna did lots of work on opening up the living spaces, including knocking through to a barn attached to the house to create an expansive living room. "The decorating style is measured between neutral and adorned, luxurious and restrained, embracing the traditional materials and artistry of Provence, from terracotta tiles to cottons in the style of eighteenth-century toiles produced in Marseille and Avignon."
Luke White5/11"Drawing on the European heritage of faience, it was a joy to have Susan Bednar Long help me create a wall-mounted display of blue-and-white antique Delft plates in the dining room, sourced over time from various dealers at the Paris markets."
Luke White6/11"I have a passion for French fabrics," says Shauna, "but had never had the right opportunity to use them. In the early project stages Susan and I went to Paris, where we sat in Pierre Frey’s headquarters for three days, taking the time to really understand their lovely designs and choose combinations for each space. "
Luke White7/11Shauna explains the origins of the chintzes and toiles used all over the house. "From the seventeenth century, curtains and upholstery were made up in Indiennes, cotton chintzes imported from India, which looked light and fresh in comparison to traditional heavy damasks. These were eventually replaced with copycat printed cottons manufactured in France, evolving into the distinctive toiles of today, which still have that naive quality."
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Luke White9/11An outdoor dining area at the house.
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Luke White11/11Provence Style: Decorating with French Country Flair by Shauna Varvel with Alexandra Black, photography by Luke White. Published by Vendome Press. Available in all good bookstores and online.
